I was lucky enough to spend an afternoon pottering around the Yayoi Kusama Museum, the world's only permanent gallery dedicated to her work.
The exhibition I attended—Here, Now, I have Reached the Grandest Start of My Life—follows Kusama's footsteps as an artist, starting with early works from the 1950s and concluding with her more recent fare. Allegedly the most popular artist on the planet (at least in terms of visitor numbers), her galleries worldwide are often packed while they last—so naturally getting tickets can be a pain. More on that later.
Her works are famously fueled by intense visual and auditory hallucinations, which have inspired her remarkable output for more than 70 years. If bold colors, obsessive repetition, an elusive artist and many, many pumpkins sound like your idea of a cultured day out, you're in the right place.
On the surface there's not an awful lot to see on the first floor of the Yayoi Kusama Museum, but it's a nice introduction to the space, with a brief explanation of the gallery printed on the wall in English and Japanese. You'll also want to grab a program from the reception desk, since none of the pieces are marked in the gallery itself. There's a small gift shop on this floor, but be warned, some of the prices are not for the faint of heart.
The second floor changes every few months, but when I went featured a showcase of Kusama's early works. It doesn't take an art critic to see stark differences in her style throughout her life. Her '50s works seems to lack the bright positivity that epitomizes her later style, but you can still see the occasional fields of nets and dots she later became famous for.
The current exhibition showcases botanical-themed works alongside several self-portraits that span from her early days as an artist to present day.
The third floor features many of Kusama's newer works, from her My Eternal Soul collection. If you've seen any recent promotional stuff, odds are you've seen a couple of these already. Brighter, louder and much, much bigger, there's a lot to take in from the second you get to the top of the staircase.
The highlight of course, is one of Kusama's famous infinity rooms, PUMPKINS SCREAMING ABOUT LOVE BEYOND INFINITY. Designed to reflect a small patch of pumpkins seemingly forever, peering into the box is a unique experience. Part of what makes it so jarring is your own lack of reflection in the mirrors, which took me longer than it should have to notice. Free of interference from the outside world, the inside of that box almost feels like it could be another dimension. Fair to say I'm probably missing the point, but the effect is both reflective and technically impressive.
The 5th floor features a (very) small library, with in-depth programs from selected galleries in several languages, as well as a reading area. The rooftop includes one last dazzling pumpkin statue. In the full light of a summer afternoon it really does shine, so if you plan to spend any time up there, shades might be a good call.
As a nice final touch, all the windows are shaded with a subtle matrix of tiny dots, which are cast across your view of the city. And you might just find that image follows you when you leave. Could be I'm just susceptible to suggestion, but I found myself fixating on incidental circles and repeating patterns in the world around me for a good while after leaving!
Waseda isn't exactly on the tourist trail, but it's easy enough to get to on the Metro Tozai line. Depending on your route, you'll probably change either at Takadanobaba, one stop to the west, or Iidabashi, two stops to the east.
The Yayoi Kusama Museum limits its intake to avoid overcrowding, and you are only allowed to stay for 90 minutes. As with many popular Japanese attractions (we're looking at you, Ghibli Museum), applying for tickets can be an involved process. In this case, the only way to get them is to book online—over two months in advance. Fortunately, the system itself is pretty straightforward, and the site's English translation is top-notch. New tickets are released at 10am on the first day of each month.
Tickets are ¥1,000 for adults and ¥600 for ages 6-18.
If you don't fancy waiting in line with the crowds that attend Kusama's traveling galleries, then visiting this museum is a great opportunity to see her work. The trade-off is that you'll need to book well in advance—so if you're only in Tokyo for a few days, you might just be out of luck.
Kusama's current exhibition, I Want You to Look at My Prospects for the Future: Plants and I, runs until February 28, 2019, and the museum will then be closed for all of March 2019.
Fancy a bite to eat before or after your visit? You can't go wrong with the lunch menu at Ama Waseda, right by the station. The restaurant is Nepalese, but many of the dishes seem to be Thai. Prices start at ¥600, and there's a ¥100 student discount.
There's also a branch of the enduring cheapo favourite, Book-Off, on the way back to the station. Swing by if you're in the market for cheap books or gaming supplies!
Even if you don't need to go, take a moment to enjoy the bathroom on the second floor.


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Luxurious 8 Night 9 Days Croatia Honeymoon Package Tour Day 1 Start with Arrival Ljubljana International Airport. After clearing Customs proceed towards Hotel. On the way, enjoy Orientation tour of Ljubljana. Tour starts by walking through the impressive center and medieval old town. See the houses, squares, monuments, bridges and alleys. Feel the quaint energy of one of Europe's smallest capitals blended in with the vibrant beat of one of Europe's largest universities. Later proceed towards Hotel and check in. Overnight at the Hotel in Ljubljana. (Meal: Dinner). (One Time Airport pickup at 12.00 Hrs).
Luxurious 8 Night 9 Days Croatia Honeymoon Package Tour Day 2 start with breakfast. Check out and proceed to Plitvice Lakes National Park. On Arrival proceed for tour to Plitvice lakes National Park. It is composed of 16 blue and green lakes, connected with more than 90 waterfalls and rapids. For the beauty and the attraction of the Plitvice Lakes, travertine and the plants of travertine take the credit. With the formation of travertine and the partition of the river bed, lakes have formed. This is a magnificent architectonic phenomenon of nature, surrounded by thick woods in which bears, wolves, wild hares, martens, and partridges live. The park has belonged to UNESCO Cultural Heritage since 1979. Arrive and Check in at Hotel. Overnight in Lake Plitvice. (Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner).
Luxurious 8 Night 9 Days Croatia Honeymoon Package Tour Day 3 start with breakfast. Check out and proceed to Split. Split, a town on Croatia's Dalmatian Coast, is known for its beaches and the fortresslike complex at its center, Diocletian's Palace, erected by the Roman emperor in the 4th century. Once home to thousands, its sprawling remains include more than 200 buildings. Within its white stone walls and under its courtyards are a cathedral and numerous shops, bars, cafes, hotels and houses. Check in At Hotel. Day at Leisure Overnight in Split. (Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner).
Luxurious 8 Night 9 Days Croatia Honeymoon Package Tour Day 4 start with Breakfast.Proceed for Orientation City tour of Split with a Local Specialist featuring the historic inner city, built around the Roman Emperor Diocletian's Palace, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. See the remnants of Split's Roman heritage, its Renaissance and Gothic structures, Jupiter's Temple, the Peristyle and the Cathedral. See the VocniTrg (Fruit Square) Marjan hill attractions. Island Republic Square is one of the most beautiful squares in Split. This beautiful Neo Renaissance square decorated by three sides columns while the fourth side is open to the sea. Then after proceed for Trogir, a historic town and harbour on the Adriatic coast in Split-Dalmatia County. Arrive Trogir and proceed for orientation tour of Trogir. Then after proceed to one of the best beach in Trogir, Okrug Gornji known for the versatility of touristic possibilities, various entertainment, sport and recreation activities. Optional Acitvites are available at the beach like Parasailing, Quad and Buggy Safari, Paintball, Sea Scooter, Surfing Kayaking, Tuba Drive and Banana Drive. Later return back to Split. Overnight in Split. (Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner).
Luxurious 8 Night 9 Days Croatia Honeymoon Package Tour Day 5 start with breakfast. Check out and proceed for Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik is known for its distinctive Old Town, encircled with massive stone walls completed in the 16th century. Its well-preserved buildings range from baroque St. Blaise Church to Renaissance Sponza Palace and Gothic Rector's Palace, now a history museum. Arrive & Check in at Hotel. Later Evening proceed to Walking city tour of Dubrovnik. Overnight in Dubrovnik. (Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner).
After breakfast at the Hotel. Proceed for Dubrovnik Cable Car, a 4-minute ride transports visitors 778 meters to a plateau offering Old City views and a restaurant. Later proceed to Montenegro. Montenegro is a Balkan country with rugged mountains, medieval villages and a narrow strip of beaches along its Adriatic coastline. The Bay of Kotor, resembling a fjord, is dotted with coastal churches and fortified towns such as Kotor and Herceg Novi. Tour to Blue Caves, Green Caves Speed Boat Tour Visit the beautiful Blue Cave on Vis and the Green Cave at Pakleni islands. A unique and popular speedboat program. Overnight at the Hotel. (Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner).
After breakfast, check out and proceed to Zadar. The name of the city of Zadar emerged as Iadera and Iader in ancient times, but the origin of the name is older. It was most probably related to a hydrographical term, coined by an ancient Mediterranean people and their Pre-Indo-European language. They transmitted it to later settlers, the Liburnians. Roman Forum – the largest on the eastern side of the Adriatic, founded by the first Roman Emperor Augustus, as shown by two stone inscriptions about its completion dating from the 3rd century.Church of St. Donatus – a monumental round building from the 9th century in pre-Romanesque style, traditionally but erroneously said to have been erected on the site of a temple of Juno. Later visit one of the best attractions of Zadar, The Sea Organ. It is an architectural object located in Zadar, Croatia and an experimental musical instrument, which plays music by way of sea waves and tubes located underneath a set of large marble steps. Later proceed towards Hotel and check in. Overnight at Zadar. (Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner).
After breakfast, check out and proceed to Zagreb. The city lies on the south-western part of the Pannonia Basin and extends between the Sava River and Mount Medvednica. It represents an important link between Central Europe and Asia Minor and the shortest link between the Pannonia Plain and the Adriatic Sea. On arrival proceed for the orientation tour of Zagreb. Tour starts the city of parks, palaces, museums and universities, biggest attractions of the city such as the Cathedral, the picturesque and bustling marketplace Dolac, the Church of St. Mark – the symbol of Zagreb. proceed to the vantage point of the tower Lotrščak - which offers a splendid view over Zagreb, the stone gate where you can light a candle, and Bana Jelačič Square, which is not only the crossroads of the upper and lower parts of the city but also the heart of the city, connecting the young and old residents of Zagreb. Check in At Hotel. Overnight in Zagreb. (Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner).
Luxurious 8 Night 9 Days Croatia Honeymoon Package Tour Day 9 start with breakfast. Check out from hotel and proceed to Zagreb Airport to board flight for home destination. Tour ends with happy memories. (Meal: Breakfast).
Breakfast at Hotel ,Lunches and Dinner prepared by Indian Chef.
Services of Indian Chef (For group of 20 Pax and above).
Services of Tour Manager(For group of 20 Pax and above).


text:
Rt. Hon Jack Straw
Home Secretary,
50, Queen Anne's Gate London,
SW1H 9AT
Don't Compound Past Mistake
Dear Rt. Hon Jack Straw
On behalf of our organisation, we write to express our deep concern about British government move to proscribe the Liberation Tigers of Thamil Eelam (LTTE) under Terrorism Act of 2000.
Ever since Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) gained independence from British rule, the Thamil people have suffered severe oppression under successive Sinhalese dominated governments without respite. A series of discriminatory legislative acts like the Citizenship Act No. 18 of 1948, Sinhala Only Act of 1956, government sponsored Sinhala colonization of traditional homeland etc. have reduced the Thamil people's parliamentary representation and their status to second class citizens.
In 1971 the then "Socialist" government under Prime Minister Mrs. Bandaranayake dealt a blow to the Thamil students' access to higher education by introducing standardization to admissions to Universities. Between 1971 and 1975 the Ministry of Education devised four different schemes of university admission which drastically increased the intake of Sinhalese students at the expenses of Thamils students. These manifestly discriminatory schemes in the field of higher education shut out a large number of young Thamils who otherwise qualified for university education.
The new republican constitution adopted in 1972 removed even the meagre safeguards [(Section 29 (2) (b) & (c)] contained in the Soulbury constitution and the preamble stated that the constitution shall be a "Unitary Constitution". In retrospect Lord Soulbury confessed to his bitter disappointment and misplaced confidence on Sinhala politicians as follows:
"Unhappily and for reasons indicated by Mr. Farmer, the death of Mr. D. S. Senanayake led to the eventual adoption of a different policy which he would never have countenanced. Needless to say the consequences have been bitter disappointment to myself and to my fellow Commissioners. While the Commission was in Ceylon, the speech of certain Sinhala politicians calling for the solidarity of the Sinhalese and threatening of the suppression of Thamils emphasised the need for constitutional safe guards on behalf of that and other minorities, despite the confidence felt by the Commission in Mr. D. S. Senanayake and any Government under his control." (Soulbury's Foreword, B. H. Farmer, Ceylon: A Divided Nation.)
In the circumstances any move by the British government to proscribe the LTTE at this juncture will only result in compounding the mistake made in 1948. It will also jeopardise the efforts of the Norwegian government efforts to facilitate a negotiated political settlement to the ethnic conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE. The British government which has welcomed the efforts of the Norwegian peace initiative should avail of this opportunity to right the wrongs of the past and help the Thamil people to regain their lost rights. All what the Thamil people want is to live in freedom and dignity like the Timorese or even Kosovos.
We prey saner counsel will prevail and Britain will safeguard its unenviable reputation as the cradle of peoples' democracy, tolerance and justice.
Veluppillai Thangavelu
(Text of the letter sent to the Minister of Home Affairs, U.K by the President, World Thamil Creative Writers Association. We kindly ask our readers to write similar letters of protest to the Rt.Hon. Minister of Home Affairs- Fax: 020 7273 2684 Email: foi.ho@gtnet.gov.uk - Editor)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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LONDON – Astronomers have taken the first-ever image of a black hole using a global network of eight telescopes.
The image of the black hole and its shadow, released on Wednesday, has been captured at the center of a galaxy known as Messier 87 or M87 and the black hole is 500 million trillion km away.
The details of the discovery have been published in Astrophysical Journal Letters and experts say it could open the door to new horizons.
Prof Heino Falcke, of Radboud University in the Netherlands, who proposed the experiment, told BBC the specifics of the discovery.
"It has a mass 6.5 billion times that of the Sun. And it is one of the heaviest black holes that we think exists. It is an absolute monster, the heavyweight champion of black holes in the Universe," he said.
"What we see is larger than the size of our entire Solar System," the scientist added.
Prof Falcke puts the black hole's image as showing intensely bright "ring of fire", surrounding a perfectly circular dark hole.
The edge of the dark circle at the centre is the point at which the gas enters the black hole.
More than 200 researchers were involved in the project who worked for more than a decade to capture the image.
Black holes were first predicted by Einstein's theory of relativity although Einstein himself was unsure that they actually existed. The fresh image confirms the presence of black holes as scientists have conquered the insurmountable challenge.
The telescope array collected 5,000 trillion bytes of data over two weeks, which was processed through supercomputers for retrieving the images.
NASA describes black holes as made up of huge amounts of matter squeezed into a small area with a gravitational pull so massive that not even particles and electromagnetic radiation such as light escape from inside it.


The book lover's paradise! We're an independent bookseller stocking a wide selection of everything from fiction, classics and children's books to history, science and current affairs – all in English of course. We also host reading groups, author's visits, children's readings and much more. Welcome!
Thursday 30th November 18:30. Free!
We Need to Talk – what happens after #metoo?
Our Sofo bookshop is turning two!
Our Stockholm shop in Sofo is TURNING TWO – this is cause for celebration!


text:
create table if not exists bans
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    user_id           bigint  not null,
    moderator_user_id bigint  not null,
    guild_id          bigint  not null,
    ban_time          bigint  not null,
    expire_time       bigint  not null,
    reason            text    not null,
    expires           boolean not null,
    unbanned          boolean not null
);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Look at all those leaves! 606 green leaves crisscrossing easy other while casting color changing shadows throughout the tree. Standing as high (or higher) than most people at six feet tall, this painstakingly designed beauty is a delight to behold. Segmented trunks in brown and white take the illusion even further. Comes with a pot and faux dirt to complete the tropical splendor.


text:
Theater in Argentinië
 Teatro Argentina (Rome) - theater in Rome dat de naam ontleend heeft aan het plein "Largo di Torre Argentina"

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


My seafood school has been open for nigh on 20 years. I started it to give the chefs at The Seafood Restaurant a bit more intense training preparing and cooking fish and shellfish. To keep the lecturers, all chefs from the restaurant, gainfully employed I ran a few courses for aspiring cooks, it was an instant success with the public and now it's hard to find slots for the chefs, but the principal remains the same, teaching by chefs who really know what they're doing.
But it's not just about seafood, we do lots of other interesting day courses. Indian Seafood, Far Eastern, Italian, Mexican and of course fish and shellfish to name a few, plus some wonderful patisserie sessions.
If you're looking to celebrate with friends or if you're after some time away with your company our cookery school is perfect for dinner parties, cookery demonstrations, drinks parties and more.


text:
Getting over incidental coprophagy
Some common coprophagic organisms. One even named in an inadvertent pun.
Christian Seger of Blue Heron Farms opened his TEDxHouston talk by summarizing Eric Schlosser's book, Fast Food Nation, in one sentence: "There's shit in the meat". The section, in context, actually reads like this:
"The medical literature on the causes of food poisoning is full of euphemisms and dry scientific terms: coliform levels, aerobic plate counts, sorbitol, MacConkey agar, and so on. Behind them lies a simple explanation for why eating a hamburger can now make you seriously ill: There is shit in the meat."
While succeeding in terrifying Christian Seger, Schlosser demonstrates a remarkable disdain for science, not bothering to connect or understand the words. These aren't just dry unscientific terms - they are completely peripheral to his own disgust response.
Coliforms are bacteria that are short rods in shape. Their levels are used monitoring system to detect bacterial contamination. The coliform we are often interested in is E. coli, which both a human pathogen, friend, and neighbor - depending on the situation. It's also a facultative anaerobe - meaning it can grow with or without oxygen. Aerobic plate counts are way of finding out how many bacteria require oxygen to grow. Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol which is often used in many sugar-free candies and gums - but in the lab, the ability to ferment sorbitol is a key test in classifying the kind of bacteria is present. MacConkey agar is yet another test for classifying bacteria. If you notice - none of these build up logically to his thesis. All it is is the contamination properties of the disgust response is evoked to imply that there's something dangerous about the food. In truth, there was probably at best a tiny bit of poo in the meat, detectible with the highly sensitive methods of modern microbiology - but in the big picture, insignificant.
And it turns out that eating shit isn't necessarily so bad. For every human cell in a human body, there are 10 bacterial cells: the health and diversity of this microbial community is every bit central to the health of the human. In certain circumstances, a bacterium called Clostridium difficile (Cdiff in shorthand) can overwhelm the gut system, resulting in diarrhea, even death. Though Cdiff infections can be difficult to treat, one of the most effective is something euphemistically called "fecal transplantation". But that's mostly the ick factor talking - basically, it's just eating shit from a healthy individual to restore the balance in the sick patient's gut. There's a bit more to the preparation than that, but it's remarkably effective, and if you can get over the taboo, cheap as shit.
It should really come as no surprise: coprophagy is fairly common in the animal kingdom. Heck, in all likelihood, children inherit the founding microbial populations from a bit of the poop from the mother. And it's all right.
Posted by Dr. Ricky at 10/23/2013 03:19:00 PM
Labels: coprophagy, microbiome, nofear, science, therapy
Giving In to False Balance
In a speech at the Food Integrity Summit in Chicago, on Oct 15, Mark Lynas, former antiGMO activist now pro-science crusader, lays out his case for labeling of "GMOs (genetically modified organisms"in food. With eloquent certainty, he admits that there is no scientific basis for labeling, and that the ultimate intent of pro-labelling activists is the outright ban of genetic engineering. And that if such a ban could be enacted worldwide, it would literally hobble biotech scientists.
What is his point? Like Ramez Naam before him, he's convinced that arguing from science is a politically unwinnable position. The "Right to Know" campaign, he concedes, is too powerful a political demand to be countered by the facts. He subtly buys into the argument that indeed, food manufacturers are fighting against labeling (not distinguishing this from voluntary labeling), so they can
"smuggle [their] core products into peoples' shopping baskets so that they can only buy them either unknowingly or by mistake".
Unlike Naam, who couched his argument in favor of pressuring manufacturers to adopt voluntary labeling, Lynas outlines a plan for federally mandated and controlled labels, designed explicitly as not a warning (how this is to be done is up for speculation), and ubiquitous to the point of labeling cheese made from animals fed with some proportion of GMO plants. This is supposed to head off the patchwork of state by state initiatives in "GMO" labeling. Out loud and proud for the GMOs - we can can out shout the protesters.
Lynas casually concedes that the food industry is somehow not being transparent (even though this is a straw man argument), and says - let's just move on. He doesn't consider who is actually going to bear the burden of this policy he is advocating. The design of the label, its content, testing and enforcement will be a significant cost given the desired ubiquity - and the implication is that this will be the standard cost of food production from here on out (unless, of course, one opts out of using "GMOs" - however that legal definition shifts going forward). This may seem trivial for big producers, but what of smaller food producers? Regulations already place a significant barrier to entry for aspiring food makers, the addition of passing labeling inspection - purely on a political whim - makes the process onerous.
In the face of a political fight where he sees the truth about to be lynched by the mob, Lynas opts to throw the first stone. To earn trust? It's hypocrisy.
Though he has clarified that he is against the I-522 mandating GMO labeling in Washington state, this move emboldens the antiscience fringe fueling the debate. Like many in the mainstream media, he's given fear mongering fabrication equal footing to established science. This is not a negotiation. This is not acceding to a public's "Right to Know". It's a witch hunt, and someone is being used as a sacrifice to placate a terrorized population.
I'll append an extension to Lynas' proposal. Assuming his mandated labeling law comes to pass, complying with it should come at no cost to food producers. The cost of monitoring, categorization, physical labeling, and independent enforcement must come from a new tax on food products that do not use GMO items (can be tied to the Organic Certification program), since those producers stand the most to gain from the system. Of course, that is ultimately the linchpin of this bogus argument about mandated labeling.
Labels: commentary, gmo, I-522, labeling, Lynas, science, Washington
Chemical with corn
Tamale from Radical Eats, Houston, TX
The US has a federal holiday commemorating Christopher Columbus, the alleged "discoverer" of the new word (although I think the ever sharp Oatmeal skewers this historical figure quite effectively). For what it's worth, a consequence of the contact is the transfer of crops from the New World to the Old, spreading them far, and change cuisines worldwide. The tomato transformed Italian cooking, for example, but another effect is that nutrient dense crops quickly became the main source of nutrition in poorer parts of Europe. Modern readers with computers may find it hard to believe, but there was a time that people literally had nothing more than corn to eat. The quick growing and human adapted corn (maize) gave rise to dishes like polenta, solving potential starvation issues.
But along with the rise of this monophagous (single sourced) diet came the spread of a disease: pellagra. Patients stricken had skin lesions, dementia, and, given the medical care at the time, died soon after. Primitive epidemiology tracked the problem to primarily corn eating populations. Perhaps it was contamination or some kind of pathogen in the corn. Pellagra reached epidemic proportions in the heavily corn consuming poor people of the southern USA.
Roasted sweet corn in a cup (elotes) at Max's Wine Dive, Houston, TX
We now know that pellagra wasn't caused by pathogen, it's a micronutrient deficiency in the vitamin niacin. What was confounding at the time, however, was that mesoamerican people also lived on a primarily corn-based diet, and yet had practically no incidence of pellagra. The key, as it turns out, was nixtamalization. The process of soaking maize in slaked lime - calcium hydroxide - well, basically most any alkali will work - made the naicin bioavailable, and also released the amino acid precursor tryptophan. The resulting maize is the basis for hominy and masa -- and all derivative dishes thereof, from antojitos to tortilla chips.
So, if you find yourself worried that your food "contains chemicals", "chemically processed", or involved things that cannot be pronounced easily - consider the history of maize in the Western diet. While one of the most genetically modified crops in human history, the link to pellagra, as it turns out, was insufficient technology.
Labels: chemicals, corn, disease, history, maize, masa, mexico, micronutrient, nutrition, science
A touch of acid
Kilawin (a vinegar based ceviche) and grilled pork with calamansi. An excellent combination.
You hear it quite often nowadays on those cooking competition shows. A judge eats a bit of a contestant's food, and pronounces "It could use more acid". Well, what exactly do they mean by that? In general, I think the judge just wants an additional sour note to the food - after all, that's what we taste as sour are acidic substances. But not all acids are equal.
Industrially, mineral acids are the norm - examples of these are sulfuric acid, or muriatic (hydrochloric) acid or nitric acids. These are strong acids, which is to say just a little bit of mineral acids can wreak havoc on naked metal (and yes, just about all metals are susceptible to acid attack - take note about your fancy knives), and scar exposed skin. But these are rarely (if ever) used in culinary applications.
What are found in foods, the endogenous acids that make them sour, are weaker organic acids. Used in a scientific context, organic has nothing to do with being pesticide-free or other scaremongering imagery, rather, organic compounds have carbon backbones, and almost all chemicals emanating or involved with life are organic in nature. Ironically, that means that most pesticides are organic in nature.
Maybe the simplest culinary acid is carbonic acid, formed by combining a molecule of carbon dioxide with a molecule of water. Carbonated water is already acidic by this reaction, although it tends to be unstable, and breaks down easily. Nonetheless, formation of carbonic acid is an important step in buffering of blood chemistry, and given how easily it is formed, is the key compound in making limestone caves.
A bit more stable is acetic acid, the key souring component of vinegar. It's formed by bacteria eating the alcohol formed by yeast in fermented juices like wine. Although more stable than carbonic acid, it is volatile, meaning that it will evaporate. So, how does a salt and vinegar chip taste sour without being soggy? More than likely, the manufacturer used a crystallizable acid: citric acid. As you can tell from the name, citric acids is the key souring compound in citrus fruits, although it can be found in other foods as well. Powdered citric acid crystals are readily available, and are a food safe method of cleaning off the white crust from hard water that accumulates in kettles and faucets. What balances out citric acid is tartaric acid, the souring notes in fruits like grapes and apples. In fact, the ingredient cream of tartar is basically solid tartaric acid. It also has a certain astringency that is characteristic of the fruity flavors.
Labels: acid, chemistry, cooking, ingredients, science, tips


text:
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Swimming Strait - Tackling The Tsugaru
The Tsugaru Channel is the least known of the 7 channels that make up the Oceans Seven.
The channel is in a far-away land where Japanese is the only local language spoken - presenting additional challenges for non-Japanese marathon swimmers.
The Japanese escort boat pilots are experienced fishermen in the area, many of whom have spent their entire lives fishing among the well-stocked area of myriad marine life.
Additionally, the channel presents many of the same challenges as the other more well-known waterways of the Oceans Seven: strong currents, tidal flows, unpredictable eddies, unswimmable waters when the winds come up, jellyfish, squid, large ocean swells, and large oil tankers and cargo ships running the channel.
The recommended time to attempt crossings is July and August, although some have attempted in May and June when the water is still closer to 10°C (50°F) than 15°C (59°F), but in July and August, the water temperature increases well above 16°C (61°F).
The distance between the two closest points is Tappi Misaki (竜飛崎) on the Honshu (south) side of the channel and Shirakami Misaki (白神岬) on the Hokkaido (north) side in 19.5 km (12 miles).
Note: "misaki" means "cape" in English. However, many of the successful solo and relay crossings follow the course pioneered by David Yudovin in 1990.
Yudovin started on the far western side of the channel on a small cape called Kodomari Benten Cape (小泊権現崎) on Honshu and allowed the west-to-east running Tsugaru Current to push him towards Shirakami Misaki on the Hokkaido. His pioneering swim took him 13 hours 10 minutes in July 1990.
An alternative course is to swim directly between Tappi Misaki on Honshu to Shirakami Misaki along the Shirakami Peninsula on Hokkaido. This course is a bit more high-risk in that the currents around Tappi Misaki run fast, but if the swimmer is fast enough, the distance is shorter. This course was taken by Steven Munatones a few weeks after Yudovin's swim in 6 hours 11 minutes in July 1990.
The shortest course in the reverse direction (north-to-south) is from Shirakami Misaki to Tappi Misaki that was pioneered by Munatones in 1990 in 6 hours 39 minutes.
Another course is between Shirakami Misaki on Hokkaido and Shimokita Peninsula (下北半島) on the eastern side of Honshu. This course was pioneered by Miyuki Fujita in 2006 and swum by Penny Palfrey in 14 hours 26 minutes in 2011.
The currents flow quickly from west to east as the water flows from the Sea of Japan to the Pacific Ocean.
Large swells, extremely turbulent water surface conditions, unpredictable eddies and abundant marine life from sharks to sea snakes exist, although jellyfish and squid are usually what swimmers see and encounter.
The challenges include issues both on land for planning and logistics purposes and in the water. The fact that English and languages other than Japanese are not spoken in area is an obstacle not a problem in the Cook Strait, Strait of Gibraltar, North Channel, Molokai Channel, English Channel or Catalina Channel. In the water, swimmers are often swept long distances due to the extraordinarily strong currents flowing from the Sea of Japan to the Pacific Ocean and can face large blooms of squid during the night. Swimmers are challenged by occasional patches of cold water that flow up from the depths that have even chilled such marathon swimming stalwarts as Stephen Redmond.
American Darren Miller shows his environment as he prepares for his Tsugaru Channel attempt this week. Miyuki Fujita, the most prolific Japanese channel swimmer, shows the usual conditions in the Tsugaru Channel below.
Besides Miller, Ireland's Stephen Redmond, Sweden's Anna-Carin Nordin and Americans Pat Gallant-Charete, Forrest Nelson and Michelle Macy will make attempts across the only Oceans Seven challenge in the Far East as well as relays from Japan and elsewhere.
Open Water Source will be following Miller and Redmond are their swims across the Tsugaru Channel this week.
Online information on the channel include: Openwaterpedia, Tsugaru Channel Swimming Association, Tsugaru Channel Swimming blog and Ocean-Navi.
Stephen Redmond Crosses The Tsugaru Channel
Darren Miller Crosses The Tsugaru Channel


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Passing the Baton: New Met Leadership To Help Out The Frick
September 25, 2018 September 25, 2018 / William Newton	/ 2 Comments
Some interesting art institutional news is emerging which will have a significant impact on (arguably) two of the best museums in the New York – which just so happen to be within a couple of blocks of each other.
The Frick Collection is possibly my favorite museum in New York: small but grand, elegant but welcoming, and mercifully free of the vast crowds that prevent you from actually seeing anything, as is so often the case at the Metropolitan Museum of Art just up the avenue, despite that museum's gargantuan size. As regular readers know, the Frick been working on an expansion and renovation plan which, after many failed starts, at last seems to be on track to finally getting underway. In order for this to happen, the museum will have to close for a period of time; in anticipation thereof, staff had been searching for places to temporarily display some of the over 1400-piece collection, while the rest went into storage.
To the surprise of everyone, the Met has stepped forward and offered the Frick the use of Met Breuer, the former home of the Whitney Museum of American Art which the Met moved into not too long ago. The atrociously bad Breuer building, which the arts establishment of the present day love for reasons best understood by their psychotherapists, is still owned by the Whitney, but is leased to the Met until 2025. The Frick will become the Met's subletter, a use which is permitted under the terms of the rental agreement.
The occupancy, which is expected to last for two years once construction is finally greenlighted at the Frick mansion, will allow the entire Frick collection to stay together in one spot as the renovation proceeds. It will also allow visitors the questionable pleasure of seeing beautiful art set in a hideous space. As Ian Wardropper, Director of the Frick, pointed out in an interview with The Art Newspaper, "I think in the beginning people are going to be really curious—what does the Frick look like in a distinguished Brutalist building?"
What, indeed. The term "distinguished", incidentally, is one of those throwaway words that is used in artspeak for something old that no normal person actually likes, but which the art establishment uses to make you feel bad if you express the opinion that an establishment darling is utter crap (see also, Marina Abramović, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, etc.) But be that as it may, the fact that one will be able to go to the temporary home of the Frick and see some of their glorious works, like this, or this, or this, will be worth it if, at the end, a newly revitalized permanent home will be in the offing.
The agreement appears to have come about through the efforts of the Met's brand-new director, Max Hollein. Mr. Hollein has taken over the bloated barque of the Met at a rather crucial time in its history; I've written about some of its recent problems under its previous director, in these virtual pages, as well as for The Federalist. While the museum plots a new course, and tries to right itself financially from the risk of tipping over, generating some income from the Breuer building seems like a good idea. It also shows that there's a new captain on deck who's determined to get everything shipshape.
Sorry, I got carried away with all of the nautical language there.
On Monday, Mr. Hollein gave a lengthy interview to ArtNet, talking about the past and future of the Met as an institution. One of the big takeaways here is that the Met, which has the unenviable mission of trying to be all things to all people – imagine trying to put the entire collection of the Smithsonian under one roof – needs to diversify to reflect the art and history of other cultures that are currently underrepresented at the museum. For example, the Met is well-known for its numerous galleries of magnificent Ancient Egyptian art, but only recently made the effort to coordinate and bring together its extensive collections of jewel-like works of Islamic art into a series of connected galleries. The Met has really lost its way in recent years, being more concerned about its popularity than its integrity, so refocusing on its core work of collecting, preserving, and displaying for the purposes of edification and education would be a very welcome development indeed.
In any case, good news ahead for fans of the Frick, and (hopefully) good news for the future of the Met, as well.
Seeing DC: Summer Architectural Tours Of The Capital With NCAS
May 23, 2017 May 22, 2017 / William Newton	/ Leave a comment
I'm heading off on vacation to Spain today, so blog posts may be sporadic, but you can check my progress by visiting my Instagram page.
In the meantime, I wanted to share this opportunity for seeing some of the interesting architecture of Washington DC metropolitan region, if you happen to find yourself in the Nation's Capital this summer. The National Civic Art Society will be taking a look at a range of styles and subjects, from the British colonial past, to the Founding Fathers, to the horrors of Brutalist architecture. Definitely worth checking out or sharing with someone you know!
National Civic Art Society 2017
"Our Classical Heritage" Tours of D.C.
The National Civic Art Society is proud to announce the launch of our 2017 "Our Classical Heritage" walking tours. These tours are fashioned for those who wish a greater understanding of why and how the District of Columbia came to be a classically designed city. You will learn of the ancient antecedents of our political philosophies, of the stylistic precedents of our architectural forms, and of the Founders' classical vision.
About the tour guide: Michael Curtis studied classical architecture at the University of Michigan, and painting, sculpture, and engraving in Florence, Italy. He has been a sculptor for more than 25 years. Major commissions include The History of Texas at the Texas Rangers Ball Park in Arlington, Texas, the largest American frieze produced in the 20th Century, as well as portrait busts for the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court's Thurgood Marshall Building, and many other public venues. His specialty is portraiture and fine medals. His book Our Classical Heritage: A Guide to the Political Philosophy and Aesthetic Precedent of Washington, the District of Columbia, will be published in fall 2017.
Tours are limited to three hours in length and begin at 10 AM at the location indicated. The cost per tour is $10. NCAS members, students, interns, and Hill staffers may obtain free tickets by e-mailing info@civicart.org. You must RSVP in advance. If you have any questions, please e-mail info@civicart.org or call (202) 670-1776.
Tickets are available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/our-classical-heritage-national-civic-art-society-walking-tours-tickets-34436469407
Tour I: Washington, the Classical City — June 3
The ancient cause of liberty; the immediate reason for independence; the classical principle of our convictions; the aesthetic model of a civil society.
The National Mall, from the Washington Monument
The Washington Monument
Meet at the southeast corner of Constitution Ave. NW and 17th St. NW.
Tour II: National, Political, and Personal Liberty — June 10
The various aspects of liberty considered in exemplary statues.
Lafayette Park, Lafayette Statue, et alia
Alexander Hamilton Statue
The National Liberty Memorial
Meet at the entrance of Teaism at 800 Connecticut Ave NW.
Tour III: Freedom and Sacrifice — June 17
A consideration of freedom, sacrifice, and the architectural style best suited to remembrance.
Vietnam War Veterans Memorial
The National WWII Memorial
Meet at the west end of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool.
Tour IV: Brutal Mistakes — June 24
Hubris and progressive misdirection; gradual abdication of citizen responsibility for morals and art; policy, an instrument to undermine traditional culture.
L'Enfant Plaza: Robert C. Weaver Federal Building, Housing and Urban Development, James V. Forrestal Building Department of Energy Building, L'Enfant Plaza Hotel
The Lyndon B. Johnson Department of Education Building
The Hubert H. Humphrey Department of Health and Human Services Building
Meet at the glass pyramid in front of the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel at480 L'Enfant Plaza SW.
Tour V: British America — July 8
We trace in Alexandria, Virginia our growth from quaint colonial villagers to benevolent masters of the world.
Carlyle House and Lower King Street Warehouses
Prince Street and Local Alexandria
The Lyceum and the Confederate Statue
George Washington Masonic National Memorial
Meet at the front gate of Carlyle House at 121 N Fairfax St, Alexandria, VA.
Demolition Delhi: Attacking Ugly Architecture
April 27, 2017 April 29, 2017 / William Newton	/ 6 Comments
Recently the government of India decided to demolish several large, 1970's Brutalist concrete buildings in the capital of New Delhi, in order to redevelop the land upon which they were squatting. All were located inside the Pragati Maidan, a convention and trade fairgrounds area which was inaugurated in 1972. They were typical examples of the bad taste and bad design that have come to dominate modern and contemporary architecture. And unfortunately, the major international institution which advocates for the preservation and restoration of old buildings has fallen to pieces in reaction to their demolition.
The Hall of Nations at the Pragati Maidan was a vaguely geodesic structure, consisting of a glass building covered by a honeycomb of concrete triangles. I suspect that it was an influential reference point in the matte paintings of the Klingon home world created for "Star Trek: The Next Generation". The Halls of Industries were a series of four buildings related to the design for the Hall of Nations, whose interiors resembled the ice rink of a minor league hockey team. The Nehru Pavilion looked like nothing so much as a site for ritual human sacrifice, such as the Aztecs would have appreciated, had they access to poured concrete during their day. The buildings were linked by the type of vast, bleak plazas and ramps that one sees in other horrible places roughly contemporary with their construction, such as Boston's 1960's City Hall Plaza.
In reaction to the very sensible demolition of these awful structures, the World Monuments Fund launched an online campaign via Instagram, asking participants to nominate Modern buildings worthy of preservation in addition to those nominated by the Fund itself. Among the buildings being cried over by the Fund is this Soviet-style monstrosity in Montenegro, which should have been hit by a bunker buster when the Wall fell. As is often the case on the left when it comes to the arts, although the Fund has done much good in the past by drawing attention to historically important and aesthetically beautiful buildings in need of rescue, the idea that virtually everything needs saving, particularly when it comes to an architect whose identity is known and whose politics were of the left-leaning variety, is ridiculous.
Take the Fund's reaction to the demolition and renovation of the hideous Orange County Government Center in Goshen, New York. The building was designed by architect Paul Rudolph of Yale, one of the founding fathers of the Brutalism that pockmarks the faces of most of our cities, towns, and college campuses like giant acne scars. There is not a single structure on the planet by Rudolph that can be described as beautiful, inspiring, or functional. All of them are ugly, all of them are constantly falling to pieces, and all of them deserve to be demolished.
Yet the Orange County building was described by the Fund as having a "distinctive façade", which was unfortunately "stripped bare, leaving only the framework behind." This was done as part of the County's efforts to try to make something out of this giant eyesore, whose razing would have proved too expensive for the taxpayers to bear, in order to turn the building into something that actually works, rather than serving as an incubator for mold spores. In this kind of advocacy the Fund merely reflects the bad taste and mindless gobbled-gook philosophy of those who serve on their board of advisors and speak at their events. The late starchitect Zaha Hadid for example, one of the most overrated architects in contemporary history, actually argued that the ugliness and lack of functionality in the Orange County building was an expression of democracy.
The world is a far, far better place now that the Pragati Maidan buildings are no more. Fortunately, the nomination list generated by the Fund in response to their destruction can serve as a source of inspiration. One could do far worse, as a government official, than to go through the list of Modern buildings listed by the Fund, select almost anything built between 1955 and 1980 out of concrete and pebbledash, and slate it for demolition. I assure you, the only people who will miss it are those with the bad taste to have asked the public to ignore the ugliness and lack of functionality in these spaces to begin with, because somehow they know better than common sense would seem to indicate that they, in fact do.


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Johann Ehrenfried Pohl (* 12. September 1746 in Leipzig; † 25. Oktober 1800 in Dresden) war ein deutscher Botaniker und Pathologe.

Leben
Pohl besuchte die Thomasschule zu Leipzig. Er studierte von 1763 bis 1769 Medizin an der Universität Leipzig. 1772 promovierte er zum Dr. med. 1773 wurde er außerordentlicher Professor für Botanik, 1789 ordentlicher Professor für Pathologie und 1796 für Therapie in Leipzig. Er war Mitglied der Leipziger Ökonomischen Gesellschaft und seit 1774 der Römisch-Kaiserlichen Akademie der Naturforscher (Leopoldina).

Sein Vater ist Johann Christoph Pohl.

Werke
 Plantarum Brasiliae icones descriptiones hactenus ineditae. Wien 1826–1827.

Weblinks

Botaniker (18. Jahrhundert)
Pathologe
Mediziner (18. Jahrhundert)
Hochschullehrer (Universität Leipzig)
Mitglied der Leopoldina (18. Jahrhundert)
Deutscher
Geboren 1746
Gestorben 1800
Mann
Absolvent der Universität Leipzig


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IMA 2021 Student Case Competition Goes Live
DUBAI ,U.A.E, Nov. 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants) announced the call for submissions for its 10th annual Student Case Competition which will end on January 31, 2021. This year and for the first time, regional first place winners from India and the Middle East will have the chance to demonstrate their skills at the Grand Finals which will see winning teams from around the world go head to head to win the global first place title along with an all-expenses paid trip to Dubai.
Emphasizing on the importance of the annual competition, Hanadi Khalife, senior director of MEA & India operations at IMA, said, "With the economic landscape becoming more challenging and complex, it is imperative that we prepare the next generation of finance and accounting professionals to face real life problems by encouraging them to truly think of innovative solutions to resolve them. IMA is strongly focused on presenting opportunities for finance and accounting students across the world to put their analytical thinking to the test so they may better support the organizations they end up working for going forward. Such global practices are aimed at bridging the skills gap and preparing students for successful professional careers."
Over the years, IMA has challenged hundreds of students from some of the top universities around the world and found a growing appetite amongst students looking to demonstrate their capabilities to take on big business problems. For its 10th year, IMA is inviting eligible students from the Middle East and India to solve a business case on "Should Star Textiles Cut Out Intermediaries?" Students will be paired into teams of 3-5 and asked to put their business acumen to the test before presenting their team's analysis in front of leading business professionals from reputed multinational companies around the region.
IMA will select two of the top performing teams from the Middle East and Africa, and two teams from India. Eligibility to enter the competition includes the following criteria:
Students must be enrolled in universities in the Middle East or India.
Team members may be from different academic programs but must all be from the same institution.
Each team must have a faculty advisor from the same institution.
Each team must appoint a team leader.
Team member securing first, second and third positions will be awarded US$500, US$250 and US$150 Amazon gift vouchers, respectively. Winning team members will also get the opportunity to engage in a face-to-face or virtual conversation with Jeff Thomson, CMA, CSCA, CAE, IMA president and CEO.
Titled "Ace the Case – prove your business acumen" – the IMA student case competition has received major praise by top multinationals in the region such as Hock International and JAMA who have come forward to support students in their journey as Platinum sponsors as well as IMA's Riyadh Chapter and Morgan International as Gold sponsors.
Details on the case study and participation criterion can be accessed here: https://imamiddleeast.org/en/student-case-competition-2021/ .
ABOUT IMA® (INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANTS)
IMA®, named the 2017 and 2018 Professional Body of the Year by The Accountant/International Accounting Bulletin, is one of the largest and most respected associations focused exclusively on advancing the management accounting profession. Globally, IMA supports the profession through research, the CMA® (Certified Management Accountant) program, continuing education, networking and advocacy of the highest ethical business practices. IMA has a global network of more than 125,000 members in 150 countries and 300 professional and student chapters. Headquartered in Montvale, N.J., USA, IMA provides localized services through its four global regions: The Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and Middle East/India. For more information about IMA, please visit www.imanet.org.
View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ima-2021-student-case-competition-goes-live-301179545.html
SOURCE IMA (Institute of Management Accountants)
This is the most comfortable sweater on Nordstrom — and it's less than $40
Nothing beats a comfortable sweater with a bit of flair.
AEW's Kenny Omega is hoping to change the world of pro wrestling
When Kenny Omega signed with AEW in 2018, he was looking for more than just a new promotion. Two years later, he's seeking to overhaul the entire industry.
National Beverage Corp. Sets Payment Date for Record Dividend
National Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ:FIZZ) today announced that its Board of Directors set Friday, January 29, 2021, as the payment date for its previously announced $6.00 per share cash dividend.
Kemper Announces Schedule for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 Earnings Release
Kemper Corporation (NYSE: KMPR) announced today that after the markets close on Monday, February 1, 2021, Kemper will issue its fourth quarter 2020 earnings release and financial supplement. The company expects to file its annual report on Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission on or about February 10, 2021. Following their publication, these documents will be available on the investor section of kemper.com.
Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. Schedules Earnings Release for the Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2020
Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (NYSE: BCSF, the "Company") today announced it will report its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 after market close. Management will host a conference call on Thursday, February 25, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the Company's financial results.
Mydecine Announces Change of Auditor
Mydecine Innovations Group (CSE: MYCO) (OTC: MYCOF) (FSE: 0NFA) ("Mydecine" or the "Company'), announces that the board of directors of the Company has appointed SHIM & Associates LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants as the Company's new auditor, replacing MNP LLP ("MNP"), Chartered Professional Accountant.
Brighthouse Financial Announces Conference Call to Discuss Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 Results
Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (Brighthouse Financial) (Nasdaq: BHF) announced today that it plans to hold a conference call and audio webcast to discuss its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, February 11, 2021. The call will follow the issuance of the Brighthouse Financial fourth quarter and full year 2020 earnings release and financial supplement on Wednesday, February 10, 2021, after market close.
Energy Transfer Operating, L.P. Announces Cash Distributions on Series C, D and E Preferred Units
Energy Transfer Operating, L.P. today announced the quarterly cash distribution of $0.4609375 per Series C Preferred Unit (NYSE: ETPprC), the quarterly cash distribution of $0.4765625 per Series D Preferred Unit (NYSE: ETPprD), and the quarterly cash distribution of $0.4750000 per Series E Preferred Unit (NYSE: ETPprE). These cash distributions will be paid on February 16, 2021 to Series C, Series D and Series E unitholders of record as of the close of business on February 1, 2021.
Global Hyperscale Data Center Market Research 2020-2024 | Industry Planning Structure | Technavio
The Hyperscale Data Center Market will grow by $ 107.60 bn during 2021-2025
Arch Capital Group Ltd. Announces Catastrophe Loss Estimates
Arch Capital Group Ltd. [NASDAQ:ACGL; "the Company"] reports that its 2020 fourth quarter results will be negatively impacted by a set of catastrophe events that occurred during the 2020 fourth quarter, including Hurricanes Delta and Zeta and other minor global events, as well as updated loss estimates for catastrophes that occurred during the 2020 third quarter. As a result, the Company has established a range of pretax catastrophe losses of $155 million to $165 million in the 2020 fourth quarter across its property casualty insurance and reinsurance segments, net of reinsurance recoveries and reinstatement premiums.
Dover Fueling Solutions Releases New MagLink LX 4 Console
Dover Fueling Solutions ("DFS"), a part of Dover (NYSE: DOV) and a leading global provider of advanced customer-focused technologies, services and solutions in the fuel and convenience retail industries, announced the launch of its next-generation console, the ProGauge MagLink LX 4.
Adams Natural Resources Fund Declares Distribution
The Board of Directors of Adams Natural Resources Fund, Inc. (NYSE: PEO) today declared a distribution of $0.10 per share, payable February 26, 2021 to shareholders of record February 12, 2021, consisting of $0.03 net investment income and $0.03 long-term capital gain, both realized in 2020, and $0.04 net investment income realized in 2021.
Robert Half Announces Schedule For Fourth-Quarter Earnings Results And Conference Call
Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE: RHI) today announced it expects to release fourth-quarter 2020 earnings results on Thursday, January 28, at approximately 4:15 p.m. EST. Robert Half management will conduct a conference call at 5 p.m. EST on January 28, following the release. The dial-in number is 877-814-0475 (+1-706-643-9224 outside the United States). It is recommended that participants dial in 15 minutes before the call begins. The password to access the call is "Robert Half." A taped recording of this call will be available for replay beginning at approximately 8 p.m. EST on January 28 and ending at 11:59 p.m. EST on February 27. The dial-in number for the replay is 855-859-2056 (+1-404-537-3406 outside the United States). To access the replay, enter conference ID# 1755918. The conference call also will be archived in audio format on the company's website at www.roberthalf.com.
ONE Gas Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 Conference Call and Webcast Scheduled
ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE: OGS) will release its fourth quarter and full year 2020 financial results after the market closes on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021.
Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. to Hold Fiscal 2021 First Quarter Results Conference Call
Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE: SPH), a nationwide distributor of propane, fuel oil and related products and services, as well as a marketer of natural gas and electricity, announced today that it has scheduled its Fiscal 2021 First Quarter Results Conference Call for Thursday, February 4, 2021 at 9:00 AM Eastern Time.
Worldwide Fishing Equipment Industry to 2027 - Availability of Fishing Equipment for Children Presents Opportunities
The "Fishing Equipment Market by Type, Nature, and Distribution Channel: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
Shareholders of Blue Ridge Bankshares, Inc. and Bay Banks of Virginia, Inc. Approve Merger
At separate shareholder meetings today, shareholders of both Blue Ridge Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE American: BRBS) ("Blue Ridge"), the parent holding company of Blue Ridge Bank, National Association, and Bay Banks of Virginia, Inc. (OTC: BAYK) ("Bay Banks"), the parent holding company of Virginia Commonwealth Bank, approved the previously announced merger of Bay Banks into Blue Ridge.
Truist Announces Redemption of Senior Notes due March 2021
Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE: TFC) today announced it will redeem all $1,000,000,000 principal amount outstanding of its 2.90% Senior Notes due March 3, 2021 (CUSIP 867914BK8) (the "Notes") on February 3, 2021 (the "Redemption Date").
Baxter to Present at SVB Leerink 10th Annual Global Healthcare Conference
Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX), a leading global medical products company, will present at the 10th Annual SVB Leerink Global Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, February 24, 2021. Jay Saccaro, Baxter's chief financial officer, is scheduled to present at 10:40 a.m. Eastern Time.
Independent Bank Corp. Reports Fourth Quarter Net Income of $34.6 Million
Independent Bank Corp. (Nasdaq Global Select Market: INDB), parent of Rockland Trust Company, today announced 2020 fourth quarter net income of $34.6 million, or $1.05 per diluted share, compared to net income of $34.9 million, or $1.06 per diluted share, reported for the third quarter of 2020. Fourth quarter results included $5.2 million of pretax cost related to the pending closure of two branches and the sale of non-strategic investments. Full year 2020 net income was $121.2 million, or $3.64 on a diluted per share basis, a decrease of $44.0 million, or 26.6%, as compared to the prior year. On an operating basis, full year 2020 net income was $121.7 million, or $3.66 on a diluted per share basis, which excluded a loss on terminated hedges of $684,000 recognized during the third quarter, and represents a decrease of $63.0 million, or 34.1%, as compared to 2019, which excluded certain merger and acquisition expenses as well as a gain on sale of loans. Decreases in the full year 2020 results were primarily driven by the negative impact of the Coronavirus ("COVID-19") pandemic, which resulted in elevated provision for credit losses as compared to the prior year, as well as a lower interest-rate environment.


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Meliodas é uma figura na lenda arturiana, famosa como o pai de Tristão na Prísta Tristão e contas subsequentes, incluindo o Ciclo Pós-Vulgate, Palamedes e a Compilação de Rustichello da Pisa. Ele foi o segundo rei de Lyones, de acordo com o falecido romance italiano Il dui Tristani, filho de Felec e vassalo do rei Marcos. A primeira esposa de Meliodas, Elizabeth, que deu à luz Tristan, era irmã de Mark, e sua segunda esposa era filha ou irmã de Hoel of Brittany.

Meliadus o O romance francês Meliadus é derivado do trabalho originalmente intitulado Palamedes, uma série de contos baseados nas lendas de Tristan e Lancelot-Graal, mas voltando aos heróis da geração anterior. Uther Pendragon, pai de Arthur, ainda está vivo, assim como os pais de Erec e Tristan. O título refere-se ao cavaleiro sarraceno Palamedes, cujo pai Esclabor também desempenha um papel. Certos manuscritos identificam Palamedes como uma das figuras centrais, mas ele raramente aparece e Meliodas e seu companheiro Guiron le Courtois são os personagens mais importantes.  A compilação de Rustichello da Pisa ou Rusticien de Pise, é um posterior re-working da lenda enfocando Meliadus como o personagem central. Algumas versões, incluindo as edições impressas do início do século XVI produzidas em Paris, são divididas em duas partes, com a primeira intitulada Meliadus de Leonnoys e a segunda Gyron le Courtoys.

A primeira parte começa com a chegada de Esclabor, pai de Palamedes na corte do jovem Artur e, mais tarde, de Pharamond, rei dos francos e do cavaleiro sans peur. Meliodas só aparece depois de uma série de episódios envolvendo esses personagens. Ele está, por sua vez, envolvido em várias façanhas que incluem a conquista da Rainha da Escócia, sendo capturado e depois libertado por Arthur, para ajudá-lo em sua guerra contra os saxões. Seu filho Tristan aparece na história quando criança. A versão mais completa de Rustichello da Pisa termina com os cavaleiros mais antigos sendo libertos do cativeiro e Meliodas aclamado "la farinha de toute chevalerie" na corte de Arthur.

Na cultura moderna
Meliodas é representado como o "Pecado da Ira do Dragão", assim como o líder dos Sete Pecados Capitais, tanto nas versões anime como mangá de Os Sete Pecados Capitais de Nakaba Suzuki. Na série, Meliodas é descrito como um personagem de baixa estatura, com cabelos loiros e uma aparência muito jovem, apesar de ter 3000 mil anos.

Ele carrega uma espada quebrada conhecida como Dragon Handle e é revelado como parte da raça dos demônios, assim como o ex-líder da força de elite de seu pai, os Dez Mandamentos mais ele traiu o clã dos demônios por causa que ele se apaixonou por Elizabeth do clã das deusas.

. Sua arma de escolha mais tarde na série é o tesouro sagrado Lostvayne que foi dado a ele por Bartra(O rei de Liones).

Meliodas é amaldiçoado por seu pai, o rei demônio: ele não pode morrer e quando ele faz, suas emoções são arrancadas dele, tornando-o mais forte mais Elizabeth recebeu a reencarnação eterna para ela sempre reencarnar mais ira morrer na frente do Meliodas e se ela recuperar a memoria ela vai morrer em 3 dias.

Ele virou o Pecado da Ira do Dragão por causa que ele destruí-o Danafall por causa que sua amada Liz que era uma das reencarnações de Elizabeth morreu pelo Fraudin um subsituto dos dez mandamentos que foi revivido por um mago.

Fontes

 Eilert Loseth, Le Roman en Prose de Tristan, le Roman de Palamede et la Compilation de Ruscitien de Pise (Paris: Bouillon, 1890).
 H. L. D. Ward and J. A. Herbert, Catalogue of Romances in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum, 3 vols (London: British Museum, 1883-1910), I, pp. 364–69.
 Roger Lathuillère, Guiron le Courtois: Etude de la tradition manuscrite et analyse critique, Publications Romans et Francaises, 86 (Geneva: Librairie Droz, 1966).
 Bogdanow, Fanny. 'Part III of the Turin Version of Guiron le Courtois' in Medieval Miscellany presented to Eugene Vinaver (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1966), pp. 45–64.
 Norris J. Lacy, The New Arthurian Encyclopedia (New York: Garland, 1991) ISBN 0-8240-4377-4.
 Barbara Wahlen, L'écriture à rebours: Le Roman de Meliadus du XIIIe au XVIIIe siècle (Genève: Droz, Publications romanes et françaises, 252, 2010).
Anime e mangá de Nanatsu no Taizai


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mimik news | Women in Tech
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Inspirational Women In STEM: A conversation with Fay Arjomandi
By Penny Bauder | AUTHORITY MAGAZINE on Aug 21, 2020
Technology has become the fabric of our lives, more impactful than ever in our human history, and decentralization is the necessary foundation that will set it right. More than ever, women have the opportunity to lead this technology evolution with a spirit of collaboration, nurturing and cooperation. Completely aligned with our nature, we must get in the forefront of this technological evolution, unite all women, men, boys and girls to do the right thing for everyone and reverse the status quo that has put our society and planet on the brink of extinction. I'm positive that this is possible and will only happen with our leadership ensuring freedom for all.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Fay Arjomandi the Founder, President and CEO of mimik technology inc. She is a highly sought-after global speaker, and industry thought leader given her specialization in digital communications, software applications, and protocol development. While incubating mimik, Fay was also the CEO of a group of mobile companies under Nantworks, including Tensorcom, NantMobile, and Mobile Genomic Health, leading the consumerization health solutions between 2014–2016. Prior to NantWorks, she was the CEO of Vodafone xone where she successfully launched Vodafone xone in Silicon Valley in September 2011, which became the global incubation center of the Vodafone Group and the beta brand for Vodafone consumers in UK, Italy, Spain, Germany, and Egypt
Most recently, Fay was one of four witnesses invited to the Canadian House of Commons special committee on Industry, Science and Technology to discuss contact tracing apps and mimik's technology's unique approach to provide all the benefits of contact tracing without compromising user privacy.
Touted as a pragmatic technology innovator, Fay have been grateful for the recognition she received throughout her career: authoring twelve patents. receiving the distinguished Business In Vancouver's "Top 40 Under 40" award presented to outstanding leaders in their chosen fields, in 2006. being appointed as the Canadian technology and innovation representative to the White House in 2007 named as one of the most influential women business leaders, in Silicon Valley, by San Francisco Business Week, in 2014, receiving the Concordia Alumni of the Year award in 2018, the co-founder and CEO of three start-up companies: L3 Technology, Mobidia, and Disternet (now mimik technologies).
To stay supportive of social change, Fay continue to write and speak on topics tackling diversity and the inclusion of women in tech, which she feel is starting to take hold but there is still much work to be done. Fay is committed to continue making strides for women in STEM while fulfilling my entrepreneurial spirit.
Thank you so much for doing this with us Fay! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Short answer is that it was over a bet. Back in Iran I had no desire to attend university. I couldn't see the point. I used to argue with my mom, questioning the point of getting a university degree in Iran, where I had no chance to use my education for a rewarding career. In Iran, especially during my generation's time (first generation of post-revolution kids), women became second class citizens and most had no opportunities besides getting married and having kids. My first aspiration after leaving home and moving out was to become a make-up artist, until I finally ended up in Canada (after living in a couple of other countries) While I was pursuing that in a discussion with a couple of friends, one of them encouraged me to go to university and study engineering and the other one said that I would be wasting my time becauseI was too old (I was 23) and I hadn't studied for a long time. That got me going. I couldn't accept anyone telling me that I could not do something, and everything started from there. I went to school and finished my EE in 2 and a half years by taking close to 21 credits in some semesters. After graduation, I worked for a year at MDSI, a software company in Vancouver, where I eventually got bored working on the same thing every day. It was then that I was introduced to the notion of tech start-ups. Once again curiosity kicked in along with my drive for problem solving,eventually getting me on the entrepreneurial path.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company?
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company?I was in a meeting with a couple of my team members and the entire executive team of one of the fortune 500 companies. The discussion was quite interesting. We were getting challenged for our approach and kept pushing alternative approaches that were to some degree against latest technology trends. At some point, I just closed my laptop and said "I respect your opinion. However, I caution you that regardless of mimik I must advise you as a peer to not take this approach because of all the consequences we discussed, but obviously it's entirely up to you."To my surprise, the feedback we got was very positive and I later learned that this was a tactic to test us and to see how much we would change our position to win a deal.
In 1999, when I started my first company, I learned that I can get R&D grants from the Canadian government. I applied for a grant and was visited by one of the representatives for a meeting at my office which was the livingroom of my rental property (the first floor of a house), which I had turned into an office without the owner's consent! When the government rep came for the meeting, he ended up sitting at the counter of the fireplace in order to see my presentation on my desktop. The presentation went fairly well (needless to say not to my standard today). I had made us coffee as wee agreed on next steps, but he only had a sip of his black coffee. He said he had to leave and didn't have time to finish his coffee. I poured a cup for myself after he left. As soon as I took a sip, I almost spitted everything out as it was so unbelievably bitter. The moral of the story is that you should always test your products before offering them to your customers.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Our brilliant, loyal, committed, trustworthy, and hardworking team at mimik. I now have over 20 years of experience in the tech sector in small, medium and large companies including Vodafone, where I led corporate venture and worked with many of our portfolio companies very closely to bring their product to Vodafone's markets.
I'm yet to see such a concentration of talent and skillset with drive to move mountains and march in the same direction. We don't have any "yes" man attitudes. We engage in healthy discussions and challenge each other, but in the end we make decisions and move forward with speed, agility, and cleverness in our approach. The mimik hybrid edge cloud software platform is extremely disruptive and highly scalable with seven layers of security and high data privacy, yet our differentiation is that we abstract the complexity of underlying environment and have kept everything else standard for the developers and entrepreneurs. This could have only been achieved with a great team culture with transparency, honesty and playfulness within a flat organisational structure where everyone treats each other as family. We also keep the same culture with our customers by always giving them honest and reliable answers. If we see that our platform doesn't fit their need, we tell them. If they need our help, given our knowledge and expertise, we offer it to them. We believe that edge cloud is a massive market that has just started, and we will succeed only if our customers and partners succeed with their products.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
mimik is my entire focus these days. I'm committed to my team and our ecosystem customer/partners. Bloomberg stated that edge could be a $4 trillion market. The edge cloud revolution has just started, and we've been the frontier in this sector. Edge cloud computing is complex but mimik has made it simple for entrepreneurs and enterprises to innovate and take their share of this huge market opportunity. Application developers can finally do API first and microservice-based development on edge devices that run client agents. This means bringing the workload management and data processing to the closest point to the application demand and the source of data.
I'm passionate about data privacy and the right of data producers to monetize their data. Our data has intrinsic value. I'm excited about our platform empowering data producers whether consumers or small and large enterprises. We allow them to control and manage their data. We have also started a few initiatives to enabe a fairer data economy for data producers.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let's now shift to the main focus of our interview. Are you currently satisfied with the status quo regarding women in STEM? What specific changes do you think are needed to change the status quo?
We have made a lot of strides in the home and at work, but women are still underpaid and under-represented in positions of power and have little access to capital. We need to change this, and it needs to start with women knowing their own power and worth, and demanding and fighting for equal rights.-
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women in STEM or Tech that aren't typically faced by their male counterparts? What would you suggest to address this?
I grew up in the post Islamic revolution in Iran when my life turned upside down overnight with extreme restrictions. There were a lot of things we were told we couldn't do. As a result, my parents were over-protective, the system was super-restrictive, outdated sexist traditions had become the norm, and schools were run like military camps. I was a free-minded teenager, a tomboy who was into sports, and a rebel without a cause who wanted to live her life the way "she" chose. My life was a daily struggle. The most basic stuff — what I wore, my haircut, the way I walked and talked — was scrutinized and rejected. I fled to Dubai at the age of 17, not knowing anyone or speaking a word of Arabic or English. I lived day to day, maintaining face, not wanting to ask for help from anyone, including my family. I then lived the life of a refugee and immigrant in many different countries where I was always considered the "other." Throughout my life I grew up by being told that I could not do certain things because of my gender, age, and nationality by people of the same or different gender, race and nationalities. I knew that wasn't true, so I decided to not pay attention to it. I didn't want to prove anything to anybody, but I followed my curiosity and eagerness to learn new things, and gradually surrounded myself with people who shared similar philosophies and helped make me a better person. I kept an open mind, learned from my missteps and continued marching forward by learning, pivoting and adjusting. So, I can only suggest the same for others. Follow your own instincts. Ignore nay sayers. Don't let what others say limit your dreams and abilities to move forward, and demand equal treatment, equal pay, and equal access to everything your male counterparts have. Push for a society where gender, race, sexual orientation and other personal traits are irrelevant in the realm of work and business, and where everyone is treated equally.
What are the "myths" that you would like to dispel about being a woman in STEM or Tech. Can you explain what you mean?
Women can do anything men can do if it interests them and they put their mind to it. So, the biggest myth is to assume a person can't do something as good as someone else because of their gender. Some (in fact most) of the best chefs are male and some of the most successful scientists and technologists are female.
What are your "5 Leadership Lessons I Learned From My Experience as a Woman in STEM or Tech" and why. (Please share a story or example for each)
Lead like a woman; stay consistent and lead with fairness, equality, forgiveness, protection, giving, and collaboration, with a sense of responsibility for others. I believe these are natural attributes that are ingrained in many of us that we just have to utilize at work.
What advice would you give to other female leaders to help their team to thrive?
I have learned that if you know your stuff, love what you do, work hard, are confident, do the right thing, collaborate with others, and don't let anyone step over you (men or women), then with a bit of luck, you will succeed. The last thing we want to do is to build our careers by focusing on how to fit in a male dominated system and emulate the stereotype of a male executive. Instead, I focus on doing the right thing and lead like most women; in an inclusive way and with a spirit of collaboration and teamwork.
What advice would you give to other female leaders about the best way to manage a large team?
Technology has become the fabric of our lives, more impactful than ever in our human history, and decentralization is the necessary foundation that will set it right. More than ever, women have the opportunity to lead this technology evolution with a spirit of collaboration, nurturing and cooperation.
Completely aligned with our nature, we must get in the forefront of this technological evolution, unite all women, men, boys and girls to do the right thing for everyone and reverse the status quo that has put our society and planet on the brink of extinction. I'm positive that this is possible and will only happen with our leadership ensuring freedom for all.
We must trust our instincts as they're usually right. I often hear corporate talks on diversity and inclusion as if we, women, are rare creatures to be protected. We are half the world population and creators of the entire population on earth. There is something terribly wrong with this centralized society where the power is concentrated in the hand of a few individuals and corporations.
We must and can change the course. We have a choice and must pass this choice to our daughters and sons. Teach them that they need to do the right thing for all. Teach them to be true to themselves and recognize their own abilities. Teach them that there is nothing they cannot do if they put their minds into it and work collaboratively with others to achieve it. Teach them to love and nurture others to build a better future for all. The power is in our hands. We can certainly do it.
I've been blessed to have met people in my life that shared the same philosophy in life and vision for the future of technology and society. I'm grateful to my team at mimik, some of whom I have been working with for nearly 20 years at different companies. Now, we're more family than anything else. So, I feel accountable for their wellbeing. I was fortunate to meet my business partner and Executive Chairman of mimik, Siavash Alamouti, thanks to Hartmut Kremlin at Vodafone Germany. When Siavash left Vodafone, I asked him to help me at mimik (which used to be called Disternet) and join as the CEO. He helped me for 6 years as the CEO (aka Supernode) while I was leading the product side. I'm thankful to Michel Burger, our CTO, (aka Misterwolf) for his trust in me and working tirelessly to move the technology forward. I'm blessed to have Sam Armani, our VP of Business development, for not leaving my side and taking any role as needed to grow the company. It's really hard to name everyone, but have a look at the mimik.com team page and you'll see every single person who I'm grateful to have in my life. In fact, the only thing I'm truly proud of is my close circle of teammates and friends. We work together and are passionate about doing the right thing and thriving together.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
My passion for technology has always been driven by my passion to bring goodness and progress to the world. My early activities were about bringing affordable access to internet to everyone to empower the dispossessed, and lately it has been focused on addressing one of the negative side effects of the internet and to enable people to keep their data private, monetize the inherent value in their data, and prevent the prevalent data piracy today. In addition, I have been active in philanthropic efforts including empowering women in Africa and Middle East, and artists in diaspora through a collective called the United East.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Data privacy and data right for monetization for data producers. I believe we are walking data mines and our data is being exploited by others. We need to develop responsibly and lead to raise awareness on this major issue:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/customer-analytics-data-robbery-fay-arjomandi/)
"No single raindrop believes it is to blame for the flood." This quote resonates with me since it means that you are responsible for your own actions regardless of what others do. So, change starts from within. I always try to do the right thing no matter what others do.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them
Sacha Baren Cohen, and not because of his celebrity status, but because of his passion for personal freedom and data privacy, and the need to reboot Internet as per his speech at ADL International where he eloquently expressed my passions, concerns, and call to action.


I want to share with you some simple sanders and grinders one can make with natural resources.
While I was exploring the Baking-Hot-Pit-of-Mojave-Desert-Death, I stumbled across some fine black sand. It proved to be almost as abrasive as red garnet-rich sand that Jeff Gottlieb sent me from New York. Under a microscope, one can see wondrous gems that cover nearly the whole spectrum of rainbow colors!
Equisetum hyemale (Horsetail). The top length sports a fertile, spore-bearing tip. You can also see the white, reduced leaves (a result of evolutionary processes) and the black internodes. Much like bamboo, under the black lines lay a wall that divides the inner stem into segments.
To create an abrasive horsetail patch: cut within the internodes; flatten the rolled-up segments with your fingers; press between two flat rocks; wait a few days until dry.
I bet there would have been no complaints about Cavewoman's fingernails if she would have invented one of these! I slapped a horsetail patch onto a piece of fire-shaped Yellow Cedar (affixed with deer hide glue) and saved my fingers some friction blisters via the easier grip.
Some excellent sanders and smoothers for light or finishing work. Note that the red-sand sander has been used to shape the ends of a hand drill spindle. Deer hide glue seems to be destined for more delicate work in the realm of primitive sandpaper. Perhaps tree pitch is sturdier.


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Toyota RAV4 review
From £31,0908
Long-standing SUV enters a new generation - can all-round improvements turn it into a Nissan Qashqai rival?
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Prices & specs
Toyota's efforts to add interest to the styling of its cars takes another step forward with the all-new, fifth-generation RAV4 SUV, which is certainly more distinctive than its bland predecessor.
Some of the polygon-inspired sculpting about this latest RAV4's flanks might look strange, but the overall effect is of a more dynamic and individual machine.
Richard Bremner | Senior contributing editor
But the overhaul is about a lot more than styling. This new RAV4 uses Toyota's highly versatile Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA), which is 57% stiffer in this application, lowers the car's centre of gravity and provides the sophistication of double-wishbone rear suspension, improved steering feel, optimised weight distribution and a suite of safety features. In spite of the lower centre of gravity, ground clearance increases by 15mm, and the overhangs have been trimmed by extending the wheelbase within a fractionally shorter length.
Visibility has been improved, too, by slimming the A-pillars, lowering the beltline, enlarging the side windows, repositioning the door mirrors and optionally offering a camera rear-view mirror that virtually removes the headrest and pillar structures obscuring your view.
The effect of all this is to create an airier cabin, and one of subtly and satisfyingly improved tactile quality. There's more soft-feel trim, interesting upholstery that actually features some colour (a novelty for Toyota), a rubber finish to the door pull handles and climate controls and a leather-capped gearknob. It's not quite premium, but this is a more interesting, well-made interior and a vast improvement on RAV4s past.
The drivetrain is more interesting, too, if you opt for the 2.5-litre hybrid. There's a 2.0 petrol with manual or automatic gearboxes, but our test car was the 2.5, its lighter, more compact fourth-generation hybrid driveline providing all-wheel drive via a motor/generator on the rear axle. It allows up to 80% of the torque to go to the rear wheels.
Can the new-generation RAV4 cope on and off the road?
In this form, the RAV4 promises to be a usefully more able off-roader. It's also more able on the road. Crisper steering, more eager turn-in and plenty of grippy security make this RAV4 feel quite car-like through twists, aided by effective body-roll containment. It's hardly a riot but it's assured enough to be enjoyable.
Toyota continues to improve the refinement of its hybrids' CVT transmission, whose plunging and soaring is less obvious than it used to be. You can still hear the rises and falls but they're fainter and can further be limited by using Sport mode. You also get Trail mode with the AWD version, which provides limited-slip differential control, the familiar Eco and EV modes also present.
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3. Jaguar F-Pace
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4. Land Rover Discovery Sport 2015-2019
5. Skoda Kodiaq
The RAV4's versatility extends to its cabin, too, which provides generous space on a back bench whose cushion is well angled for comfort. There's plenty of on-board storage and a decent-sized boot, making this a properly practical family car. It's further civilised by a clear infotainment system, a very good stereo and a fair ride. Sharp bumps could be better absorbed, but this RAV4 is rarely uncomfortable.
As ever with a hybrid, there's extra entertainment to be had from conserving fuel, building up your battery reserves and scoring points for your eco-driving skills, your efforts revealed by scrolling through the driver information screen. The kind of consumption these efforts might yield we've yet to determine, and it certainly won't be the 61.4mpg NEDC figure. Usefully more than 40mpg should easily be feasible, though.
All of which adds up to a RAV4 of considerably more substance than the outgoing model.
It's more robust, promises more off-road capability, has a chassis agile enough to satisfy and its design, particularly inside, is interesting enough to divert and be convenient with it.
You wouldn't call it pretty, but this new RAV4 hybrid is a pretty good SUV. It's more athletic, efficient and aesthetically appealing, and makes quite a compelling case for itself.
Continue to Prices & specs
Toyota RAV4 review | page 1 of 2
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Toyota RAV4 2019 review
Hybrid-only fifth-generation RAV4 finds itself in a niche class. We put the striking new D-SUV to the test